getting the buzz on

Bought a couple of hummers

    Well actually did that a while ago and will soon buy what it takes to make them go. And the surprising thing about my hummers is that if they do well then I will maybe make some money off them. What a concept. Also I will be doing well for the environment and at the same time increase the pollination of plants in my area while trying to replace a valuable commodity as it relates to food production due to chemical poisoning from neonicotinoids in pesticide sprays. This and all from a hummer.

     Well the hummers I bought hardly cost anything close to what you are thinking about unless you are thinking about bee hives. I bought mine used and have about 100 in each and I have all the equipment I need to start into production. What I need to do now is to get the hives set up , and get bees started in them and feed them for about a month, or until the hive can survive on its own.

       So I have brought you up to date on what I know. I can tell you the costs and will share all the important information I can as well will share with you my experience to this date working with bees. It is pretty limited, having done this only a couple of times and have to rely on memory to make this work. I guess we are already in trouble.

     So I have been reading a lot on CCD colony collapse disorder and how it is affecting honeybees in the wild and also tamer hives as bees forage on blooms sprayed with pesticides and inadvertently bring the pollen back to the hive and it becomes part of comb and honey, then slowly poisoning the hive and reducing the number of bees to pollinate our food sources.

     The sad part of the whole thing is that neonicotinoids made by Bayer of Bayer aspirin is one of the primary agents causing this die off here in the United States as well as in Europe but was banned by the European union to use anywhere on any of their fields in all of Europe. In fact they are not allowed to use it even in Germany where the maker, Bayer Corporation is from and where it was designed. So it’s alright to kill our bees off and at same time save theirs. Sounds like a plan for them. They have had many besides developing the aspirin.  They were involved with the S.S. Division of the Nazi’s in their use of developing the gas combination and supplying it in the death camps of Auschwitz, and others. The CEO at the time of the end of World War 2 was tried in the Nuremburg trial as an accessory and was prisoned but managed to serve his time and upon his release from prison returned to his job at the rebranded new Bayer as CEO once again and lasted to his death. I believe.

    I figure the way to keep bees around is to locate them away from fields I know that are sprayed with pesticides for sure. The problem is that with the new form of agriculture which includes no till farming we have pesticides and herbicides as part of that recipe of toxic sprays that ultimately are sprayed on the crops and kill the bees almost everywhere you go in this state for sure.  Bees will go long distances to forage and pollinate if the conditions are good , then they will tell their buddies and the next thing you know your bees are frolicking in your neighbors corn field unbeknownst to you. Soaking up the poison and eventually dragging their bad seed back to your hive or hummer and spoiling the queen, and the next thing you know you have no noise at all coming from under the hood of the hummer. Houston we have a problem.

     We really do have a problem as big oil and those long hydrocarbon rings we need to make pesticides and herbicides are made out of the petroleum and coal under refinery and distillation procedures  they manufacture out of their waste a product that will basically brown out a field so that nothing but the corn or soybeans survive, thereby eliminating pollen from any other plant or weed and interfering with the feeding habits of the common honeybee and exposing the bee to a source of poison.

     The EPA has issued a warning for beekeepers to hive their bees and feed them when noticing spraying in close proximity to your hives or move them. It is not the responsibility of the person spraying to notify the hive owner that spraying will commence on said dates.

    So with all that said I would have to be crazy to go into something where the insect I try to save could potentially cause me harm and after maybe 50 -60 stings could cause death, if not treated promptly. Also where the bee is in the process of being systematically killed off affecting the world food supply as now the pesticides will soon be adopted and used in third world countries where there are no regulations, and will soon be coming to a table near you at the same time affecting not only bees but also other insects beneficial or a pest in our ecological system, the affect we are not sure of. And why would I buy into something that seems to be dying out, or is that the reason we need to be doing it also. To make the consumer of food which we eat daily aware of how important our bees are to our food supply. Every piece of fruit and vegetable has a honey bee to thank for being here. The apple you eat, the peach you sup on is because of the honey bee. We need to help the bees and find new places for them to pollinate. I refuse to use herbicides and have followed a natural route when deciding the purpose of the farm.

      I really don’t like putting pesticides or herbicides on ground where the rain water filters through the soil and ends up in my water table to be drawn up into my tap for me to drink. With the greenhouse here and also growing plants for sale it seems as if it’s the only way to go. Also I will have a good clean natural source of honey to sell. Although I am not immune to commercial spraying as there are several fields that commercially farmed I feel I have enough other food sources available in the area that should be more desirable to the bees.  I may also plant food sources that are known to stimulate honey production such as buckwheat. Companion cropping in effect would be a symbiosis created where one hand feeds the other. Buck wheat can be ground to make good pancakes from what I have heard and sweetened with some honey syrup would sound a lot better than what I am having for breakfast myself.

     And hey after I sell the straw and the wheat as well as any surplus honey and save our agricultural system from total collapse, I also manage to eat a healthy breakfast. I can think of a lot of reasons we need to save the bees and hopefully I can make some cash at the same time. Sounds like a plan but need to get started and buying bees is the second step having already purchased the hives. Well enough for today and will update you as I go along.